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Lefty Lady wrote 13 October 2009
Last week I attended a class in the Cal State Northridge Library. I moved the mouse to the left-hand side and then attempted to reverse the mouse buttons. Normally I simply use control Panel to change the mouse settings. But Control Panel was not visible on the library’s computer. There was an “Accessibility” menu, but none of the things listed there had anything to do with making the computer accessible to lefties. I asked the librarian in charge of the class how to switch the mouse buttons. She didn’t know how and went to get someone else. She came back with a guy who told me that there was no way to switch the buttons because Control Panel had been disabled for security reasons. He claimed that I was the first person who had ever asked for this. I told him I wouldn’t be the last. He said it would probably be another twelve years before that happened. Wow! My right handed friends agreed with me that his response was inappropriate. And, seriously, if we were talking about accessibility for people who speak Japanese (which was available on that computer) would it matter how many or how often? Would the library refuse to meet the needs of all the various ethnic and religious groups, deaf people, or people with disabilities who are on campus, simply because they haven’t often made these requests? I don’t think so.
Reversing the mouse button is a simple thing that has been easy to do on PCs for many, many years. Not every lefty reverses the mouse buttons, but many do. In fact, even some righties do this, so they can use the mouse in the left hand while taking notes with the right. The point is, those of us who need to use the mouse in this perfectly normal way should not be placed at a disadvantage.
So here’s my request. Whether or not you are left-handed, and whether or not you prefer to switch the mouse buttons, if you are a CSUN student (or anyone who has business on campus) please go to the library and ask for help reversing the mouse buttons for left-handed use. Be polite but firm. In your conversation with the librarian, make sure you use the word “accessible”. For example, “It’s hard to use the library when the computers aren’t accessible.” Or, “How do you plan to address this accessibility problem?” You might also want to use the word “discrimination”, as in, “I’m very surprised to find this kind of discrimination going on here.”
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Rosemary West wrote 25 September 2008
If you have a question you want answered, please don’t just add a comment to someone else’s post. If you want people to see your question and answer it, you need to start your own post. It’s easy. CLICK HERE for instructions.
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Rosemary West wrote 10 January 2008
When posting, please remember to keep it clean. Opinions can be expressed in a way that is appropriate for all ages and tastes.
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Rosemary West wrote 1 December 2007
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Rosemary West wrote 14 November 2007
There are two ways to post.
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Rosemary West wrote 29 March 2007
I’ve moved Ronald Reagan from the list of left-handers to the “Not a Lefty” section. The official website of the Ronald Reagan Library describes him as “generally right- handed”, whatever that means. Some researchers state that his handedness was switched in childhood. I’ve also moved Fidel Castro and Bob Dylan to the “Ambidextrous” section, based on information from a variety of public sources.
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Rosemary West wrote 22 August 2005
A three-year study of seventeen wild chimpanzees living in Gombe National Park, Tanzania, found that the majority used their left hands when fishing for termites with sticks. Twelve of the animals used the left hand, four used the right hand, and one was ambiguous. The research was reported by the Yerkes National Primate Research Center at Emory University in Atlanta. Some previous studies have also indicated a left-handed preference among chimps using sticks, but some suggested a right-handed preference when cracking nuts.
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Rosemary West wrote 3 April 2005
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Rosemary West wrote 2 April 2005
Welcome to Rosemary West’s Left-Handed Page. We’ve introduced a new look and some new features.
Using a blog format, we now encourage message posting and discussions. To start a discussion or leave a comment, you must be registered and logged in. Messages may be held for approval by the administrator before being posted. You do not need to register to browse and read this website.
We still have a full complement of articles, features, information and links. The new format and search feature should make it much easier to find what you’re looking for.
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